


We Burn

by sapphire_child



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Creepy, Episode: s03e07 42, Gen, Post-Episode: s03e07 42
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-03
Updated: 2008-12-03
Packaged: 2019-01-22 22:09:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12491864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphire_child/pseuds/sapphire_child
Summary: In the aftermath of the Pentallion the Doctor recalls another day, another companion and the pain of burning from the inside out.





	We Burn

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/155122168@N03/37340425935/in/album-72157688618079026/)

After he’d given Martha her key she had disappeared from the console room in a giddy daze to clean herself up and then do some study.

It baffled the Doctor how she could possibly concentrate on her studies when he was in the middle of showing her the entirety of time and space but at least it gave him time to do his maintenance in peace. The TARDIS wasn’t exactly falling apart yet but she still needed a lot of help to keep her flying and doubtless she’d gotten a good roasting on the Pentallian.

With his Sonic Screwdriver held firmly between his teeth, the Doctor was soon beneath the grating and tinkering away to his hearts content, the TARDIS humming pleasurably as he mended loose circuits and frayed wires. Unfortunately he hadn’t really bothered to take into account the fact that he’d just been effectively possessed by a sentient sun who had come very close to killing a whole group of perfectly nice people (as well as himself) and in truth he probably could have done with a short rest. Recharge the batteries so to speak.

With this thought in mind, the TARDIS nudged him gently, cajoling him. He ignored her quite pointedly, continuing on stubbornly with his maintenance until she moved from mental nudging to flat out shoving.

“In a minute,” he muttered irritably. “Honestly – you want me to rest when you’re in a state like this? I’m surprised you didn’t get completely fried, temperatures like that...”

There was an answering grumble of discontent from his ship and the Doctor sighed.

“I’ll rest _after_ I’ve finished my maintenance,” he wheedled. “Stop fretting would you? You’re not my mother...”

This time the TARDIS physically baulked and the Doctor hastily scrambled up from underneath the grating lest he get thrown into any of the sharp metally type things that were underneath the console.

“Alright, alright!” he conceded, holding up his hands in defeat. “Fine! You win. I’ll have a rest.”

But the TARDIS didn’t seem convinced. She began to shake which had the Doctor’s teeth rattling in his head and then she gave a tremendous jolt which had him all but falling onto the controls before he quite knew what had happened, half of the floor panels had flipped up and the console room was flooded with a brilliant golden light.

The Doctor froze, one hand still on the console as the reflected light of the TARDIS’ heart spilled, mercurial and warm as butterscotch over the coral struts.

“Well,” he murmured. “Well then.”

The TARDIS sighed, whisper like, and a tendril of gold light blossomed and grew, forming the undulating silhouette of what was doubtlessly a woman. The Doctor stared, transfixed by the image before him – the woman’s features were hidden by the bright light that streamed from her every pore – but just as he regained himself enough to reach out and touch...

The gratings fell back into place and the room was plunged back into its usual green and amber glow. Usually he liked the ambience of the console room but after that golden light...it seemed suddenly sombre.

He paused a moment longer before he felt comfortable enough to step back out into the centre of the console room. Knowing his luck the TARDIS would try and trip him over his own feet if he wasn’t careful.

“Was that you?” he wondered softly. The response from her was a resounding negative and so the Doctor began to pace around, gently stroking various controls until he was standing right over the one and only spot where the grating could be lifted to expose the heart of the TARDIS.

He had almost forgotten...well how could he have ever forgotten really? Rose had been possessed by a godly force once, a long time ago. She had been beautiful and terrible all at once, glowing with an otherworldly light – tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

 _I want you safe_ , she had told him. _My Doctor._

His face burned suddenly, shamed. How had she managed to hold that power in her for so long without it tearing her apart? He hadn’t been able to last more than a minute before he was screaming in agony, begging Martha not to leave him.

He had acted as if a child. Frightened, lost.

Was that what he was like now? Was that how weak he was without Rose there to hold his hand?

“Doctor?” there was a pounding of worried footsteps and Martha reappeared, breathing heavily and irritating him beyond all measure. “Is everything alright? Felt like there was some sort of...I dunno, explosion or something.”

“It’s nothing,” he said, still not taking his eyes from the grating. Martha hovered in the doorway, waiting and finally the Doctor looked up and managed a smile for her. “I was just doing some maintenance and the TARDIS got a little excited. That’s all.”

Martha considered him for a moment, went to speak and then stopped herself before bounding forward and giving him a quick squeeze designed to comfort.

“I’ll just be in the library if you want me,” she told him, smiled warmly, and then she was gone.

Alone again the Doctor traced a slow circle around the console until he reached the jump seat and once there he curled himself onto it like a long-limbed cat. With his thin ankles crossed and his knees drawn up to his chest he stared at the time rotor and he remembered.

Not that he had ever really forgotten the warmth he had felt the first time he touched his lips to Rose’s, the deadly aura of time making her skin crackle with electricity. Nor had he forgotten the depth of love and human compassion he had felt within her as he had coaxed the power of the Time Vortex out of her failing body and into his own.

She had already been starting to break apart at that stage – to burn – and yet she hadn’t understood why it had hurt her. Trying to contain all the knowledge of space and time inside a body and mind equipped to deal with it was dangerous enough but to harness that power and use it...

Swallowing, he was glad for the first time that it was Martha and not Rose that had been with him today. If Rose had been made to watch him burn, knowing that she couldn’t stop him, that the power would swiftly drive him mad...

Shuddering, he rested his forehead against his knee and shut his eyes, trying to forget the terrifying burn of the sun and the warmth of Rose’s lips the first time he kissed her.

He was still there hours later when Martha finally came looking for him.


End file.
